2920 



RESTREPIA 



RESURRECTION PLANTS 



RESTREPIA (Joseph Emanuel Restrep, a student of 

 natural history in the tropics). Orchidaceas . Very 

 interesting little plants, allied to Masdevallia and not 

 unlike that genus in habit and appearance. 



Stems tufted on creeping rhizomes, each bearing a 

 single If. and clothed below with scales; fl.-sts. appear 

 from the axil of the Ivs. : perennial, producing fls. for 

 several years in succession : dorsal sepal free, ending in 

 a filiform, clayate tail; lateral sepals united into a 

 broad blade, bifid only at the apex; petals like the 

 dorsal sepal, but smaller; labellum oblong or ovate, 

 often with 2 small teeth near the base. About 40 

 species, from Brazil to Mex., few of which are cult, for 

 their curious fls. They are easily grown at a temperature 

 suited for cool odontpglossums (40-55). They thrive 

 well planted in a mixture of peat and sphagnum in 

 baskets, which are usually suspended near the glass. 

 They have no definite resting period, but do not require 

 so large a quantity of water in winter as during their 

 most active growth. Pot moderately firm, and rest in a 

 coolhouse. 



antennifera, HBK. Sts. slender, clustered, 4-6 in. 

 high, clothed with imbricated scales, and bearing one 

 (rarely more) ovate-cordate petioled If. : peduncle from 

 the axil of the If., slender, 1-fld.: dorsal sepal 1J^ in. 

 long, lanceolate, tapering into a slender clavate tail, 

 yellow, with purple lines and a purple tip; lateral sepals 

 united into an oblong blade 2-lobed at the tip, yellow, 

 marked with red-purple dots; petals small, antenna- 

 like, purple at the tip. Nov.-Feb. Colombia, Vene- 

 zuela. B.M. 6288; 7930. I.H. 16:601. A.F. 6:631. 



Dayana, Reichb. f. A small plant growing in dense 

 tufts: Ivs. roundish, acute, cordate: dorsal sepal and 

 petals filiform, clavate, shining, violet-brown; lower 

 sepals united into a broad, bifid blade, yellow and 

 brown. Costa Rica. 



e'legans, Karst. Tufted, epiphytic, 2-3 in. high: Ivs. 

 1-1 J^ in. long, elliptic: peduncles usually in pairs: fls. 

 l%-2 in. long; dorsal sepal erect, lanceolate, white, 

 streaked purple, with a tail as long as itself, which is 

 clubbed at the tip and yellow; lateral sepals connate 

 into an oblong, emarginate, concave blade, yellow, 

 spotted purple; petals like the dorsal sepal, but spread- 

 ing and only half the size; lip half the size of the connate 

 lateral sepals and of the same color but edged with red. 

 Venezuela. B.M. 5966. F.S. 7:743. 



R. aspasicensium, Reichb. f. Only 2-3 in. high: fls. small, deep 

 yellow, densely spotted with crimson or chocolate-brown. Vene- 



zu HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



RESURRECTION PLANTS are such plants as "come 

 to life" after being apparently dead. They are kept in a 

 dried state as curiosities, to be "resurrected" on occa- 

 sion, and sometimes they are grown for a similar purpose 

 but they are scarcely horticultural 

 subjects. 



The commonest resurrection 

 plants are members of the mustard 

 family and the club moss family. 

 Others are Asteriscus, a composite, 

 and Mesembryanthemum, of the 

 fig-marigold family. Many plants 

 can be similarly revived from the 

 dried state, particularly those of 

 desert regions. 



1. The rose of Jericho is properly 

 A nastatica hierochuntica, Linn., 

 which name means "resurrection 

 plant from Jericho." The plant is 

 a native of the sandy deserts from Arabia and Syria 

 to Algeria. It is an annual and grows about 6 inches 

 high. Soon after flowering the leaves fall and the 

 branches become woody and roll up into a ball, remind- 

 ing one of wickerwork or lattice. (Fig. 3364.) Inside 

 the ball are the seeds, or, in botanical language, the 

 fruits, which are borne in a protected position near 



3364. Rose of Jericho 

 in the dry state. 



the tips or on the sides of the inrolled branches. (Fig. 

 3365.) The plants are up-rooted by the winds and 

 are blown about on the deserts. These balls were 

 thought by many to be "the rolling thing before the 

 whirlwind" mentioned in Isaiah, and were brought to 

 Europe by the crusaders. The shape of these balls 



might be fanci- 

 fully compared 

 to that of an 

 unopened rose. 

 When the win- 

 ter rains descend 

 or when the balls 

 are blown into 

 the Mediterran- 

 ean the branches 

 at once open 



3365. Rose of Jericho as it opens after back and stretch 

 being moistened. out Straight, the 



fruits open, and 



the seeds germinate very quickly, "often in the fruit," 

 according to Warming. The dead plants do not, of 

 course, "come to life," but they retain their hygro- 

 scopic properties for many years. 



Botanically, Anastatica is distinct by reason of its 

 short and broad fruit or silicic, which has two ear-like 

 appendages at the top. The silicle is divided by a 

 transverse partition into two cells, each of which con- 

 tains a seed. There is only one species. The genus 

 belongs to the Arabis tribe of the Cruciferae, but is 

 exceptional in not having a long slender silicle. The 

 growing plant has obovate leaves, the lower ones 

 entire, upper ones toothed, and the flowers are small, 

 white, and borne in spikes in midsummer. Excellent 

 pictures of resurrection plants may be found in Kerner 

 & Oliver's "Natural History of Plants," together with 

 accounts of the behavior of the various kinds. See 

 also B.M. 4400, G.C. 1872:1068, Gn. 4, p. 111. These 

 plants have much folk-lore. 



2. The bird's-nest moss, Selaginella lepidophylla, is 

 a native of Mexico and reaches into western Texas. 

 Many selaginellas curl up if allowed to dry ? and several 

 of the Mexican species do so in their native places in 

 the dry season, but this species is said to make a tighter 

 mass than any other. When placed in lukewarm water 

 the fronds loosen and roll back into a flat or saucer- 

 like position. The plant may become green and grow, 

 and it is also said that it may be dried and revived an 

 indefinite number of times. The specimen shown in 

 Figs. 3366, 3367 was "resurrected" four times after it 

 came into the hands of the Editor, and showed no indi- 

 cations of a limit to its reviving possibilities. Selagi- 

 nellas are beautiful moss-like plants. What appear 

 to be the leaves are 



really the branches, 

 and the true leaves are 

 scale-like. See Gn. 17, 

 p. 400; F. 1871, p. 144; 

 also Selaginella. 



3. A member of the 

 composite family 

 (Odontospermum pyg- 

 mseum, or Asteriscus 

 pygmseus) is also called 

 rose of Jericho, has the 

 same range as No. 1, 

 and was also brought 

 to Europe by the crusa- 

 ders. (Fig. 3368.) The 

 branches do not roll 

 up, but the involucre 

 closes over the head of 

 fruit in the dry season, 

 and is loosened by 



moisture when the 3366. Selaginella lepidophylla, one 

 seeds escape. O f the resurrection plants. ( X 1 A) 



